Major Averages Slide More Firmly Into Negative Territory

(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Monday after initially showing a lack of direction. Uncertainty ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting is weighing on the markets.

Biotechnology stocks are turning in some of the market's worst performances in mid-day trading, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 1.2 percent. With the loss, the index is pulling back further off the record highs it set earlier this month.

Within the biotech sector, Sequenom (SQNM) and Myriad Genetics (MYGN) are posting notable losses, falling by 3.4 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

Considerable weakness has also emerged among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent drop by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The loss extends a recent downward trend by the index, which is moving lower for the sixth consecutive session.

Natural gas, financial, and housing stocks are also seeing significant weakness on the day, moving lower along with most of the major sectors.

The major averages have recently climbed off their worst levels of the day but currently remain stuck in the red. The Dow is down 57.90 points or 0.4 percent at 15,500.93, the Nasdaq is down 16.23 points or 0.5 percent at 3,596.94 and the S&P 500 is down 7.51 points or 0.4 percent at 1,684.14.